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Which DC Comics Characters Are Coming to CW's Arrow?

Now that the Green Arrow is coming to The CW this fall, the entire DC Comics canon is at the fingertips of the Arrowproducers — and they're definitely game to bring on plenty of famous DC faces.

The CW's new superhero drama will follow the exploits of Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell), a wealthy playboy who survives a boating accident that leaves him stranded on a deserted island for five years where he hones his archery skills to survive, birthing his alter ego, Arrow.

Arrow will have his work cut out for him upon his return, with the previously announced Batman villain Deadshot (Michael Rowe) set to venture to Starling City, while the pilot hints at the introduction of Deathstroke, a DC villain who has dogged Green Arrow in the past. Oliver will also tussle with China White (Kelly Hu), a South Pacific drug cartel leader whom he encountered during his years on the mysterious island. But these three villains certainly won't be the only ones plaguing Starling City (and if executive producer Marc Guggenheim has anything to say about it, former Green Arrow Justin Hartley could also be making a fun cameo).

One of the first DC characters outside the Green Arrow universe that will be introduced is The Huntress (Jessica De Gouw). This iteration is actually based on Helena Bertinelli, the daughter of a mob boss, rather than the other Huntress, Helena Wayne, the daughter of Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle. "She's going to be a match for [Oliver], both in skill and in matters of the heart," executive producer Andrew Kreisberg tells TVGuide.com. "It's a new take on The Huntress that no one has ever seen, but definitely feels Arrow-fied for our world."

Oliver will actually be surrounded by women, with one of his new inner circle being Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards), Firestorm's stepmother in DC mythos. "On our show, she's a brilliant IT girl at Queen Consolidated and she's become a little bit of Oliver's unknowing Scooby gang," Kreisberg says. "She's brilliant, but tough and sarcastic and doesn't relate well to people. Oliver is constantly coming to her for computer problems, and whether she knows it or not, she's actually helping him solve some of the cases."

That's not to say no one will ever learn Oliver's secret. At Saturday's PaleyFest fall TV preview panel, moderated by TV Guide Magazine's Rob Moynihan, executive producer Greg Berlanti revealed that someone will learn the truth, but that will certainly complicate matters for Oliver. "Oliver shares his secret with someone pretty early on," Berlanti says. "That becomes a part of the debate of what is he doing and what tactics is he using and is he crossing the line?"

Naturally, the obvious candidate to learn his secret would be his sister Thea (Willa Holland), whom Oliver calls "Speedy" in the pilot. (Speedy is Green Arrow's sidekick in the comics.) "You're certainly welcome to hope," Kreisberg responded to our theory that it would be her. "The Oliver-Thea relationship has its ups and downs and it's one of the most complicated relationships we have on the show," Guggenheim adds.

And for those wondering who Torchwoodalum John Barrowman will be playing, the producers continue to keep mum. "He'll be male," Kreisberg jokingly offered as a hint. "It'll be worth the wait."

The biggest question mark of the new series will be when Dinah "Laurel" Lance (Katie Cassidy) will fulfill her destiny by slipping into those black fishnets and becoming the Black Canary, the eventual wife of the Green Arrow. The producers insist that her transformation — similar to those of Tommy Merlyn (Colin Donnell) and Thea's — will need to be earned. "We have plans," Kreisberg says of the Black Canary. "There are definitely Easter eggs throughout the upcoming episodes that might give you a glimpse of an alternative future that might come to pass."

As for the characters fans shouldn't hold their breaths for? Superman, Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter, among many others. "Aside from the characters that wouldn't fit into our conception of Oliver's world, like some of the more fantastical aliens or superpowered people, everybody is really sort of up for grabs," Kreisberg says.

Who do you want to see pop up on Arrow? Hit the comments with your thoughts.

Arrow premieres Wednesday, Oct. 10 at 8/7c on The CW. Will you be watching?